[StudioSound]

If you are only able to set 7.1 or 2.0 in the Control Panel, setting a game like Wolfenstein to 5.1 means that it has to be upmixed before it gets processed by SBX.
It's no surprise that it would produce bad results.

You need to use 7,1 test signals to see whether you're actually getting discrete positioning for the rear/side channels or not.

And if surround is at 100% everything is getting blended together anyway. You should not set it above 67%.

 

[cdsa35000]

Yes, SBX will upmix any incoming channels into 7.1 but incase Wolfenstein 5.1, its just disable the SL/SR channels.
SBX 7.1 will fill-in the missing SL/SR by blending the audio (differences) between FL - RL= SL and FR - RR= SR.
These fake SL/SR are distinguishable with lacking sounddetails/directions and some volume decrease/soundgaps when compared with discrete 7.1.

http://www.eargamers.com/guides/how-to-test-surround-sound-headset/
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/124402-13-list-surround-sound-games

I can't find (ingame) 7.1 testsignals, so I'll trust my ears and Creative headphone controlpanel with the discrete 7.1 positions test audio, which automatically test it with Surround at 100% fixed.
I game with Surround between 40%-80% depending on game and mood.

Most ppl can't distinguish virt. 5.1/7.1 headphone sounds, so they and Creative dont care, hence the SBZ headphone controlpanel test only the Stereo position instead of 5.1/7.1 (if Im correct?)

 

[genclaymore]

I've only the Recon3D USB and windows sound options are Stereo or 7.1 Surround.

With the game Wolvenstein 2009 you can select 5.1 and 7.1 and I can confirm that 7.1 is working distinctively better vs 5.1 with Recon3D Surround setting at 100%.

7.1 adds 2 extra side speakers SL and SR, example in game there's in front a damage steaming sissing pipeline and when panning (horizontally) around.
7.1 soundsfield is more fuller, broader, less sound gap and more seemless transition between the Front and Rear speakers.
---
I think for the pcie soundcardsTHX/SBX Surround does convert 7.1 into virt. 7.1 (adds virt. SL/SR surround) to 5.1 speakeroutputs or headphones, even they aren't specified.
You'll need to find a game that have 5.1 and 7.1 surround to test/confirm you self.
If it doesn't do virt 7.1 surround, you complain the Creative for 7.1 software update, because virt. 7.1 Surround sounds more immersive and better!

Well its a matter of opinion really, because differnet people will have different results including having different headphoness. CMSS3D headphone,Dobly Headphone and THX/SBX Pro results will variy on that factor too. As the different virtual headphone tech can either work good or bad depending on the headphones or total gear that is used. Also the way all of them handle it will be the first thing people notice when using it before they notice if they hear any additional upper or below sounds.
 
Your EVO software also has a special setting for VR 7.1 , in fact that isn't the first time i seen that setting. Diamond had a sound card with a CM8828 chip i think which had the same exact option for headphones. I belive that setting that you have should be doing it in a slightly different way. Maybe for you, you find 7.1 to work better for 5.1. But people will have different results then you.
 
Z/omni as well as C-media based card will upmixes if you have windows speaker settings set to stereo and the creative panel set to 5.1 or c-media panel, as the sound card then will try to upmix it the best it can. Tho some cards will have options to do it like DTS neo or if it is a X-fi then expand.
 
The sound card will downmix when you have the windows speaker panel set to 5.1 with the creative panel set to 2.0 for speakers and Headphone mode for headphones. With this config SBX as well as both DH and CMSS3D Headphone will work the best set this way for headphones usage. If you set it to 2.0 and not headphone then it wont work good for headphones as it be config for speakers.
 
For the headphone test i think it just a slight mistake on their part, as X-FI had headphone test worked to let you test to see if CMSS3D headphones was working correctly. the SBX test seem to be config to only see if your getting audio and nothing else.

 

[cdsa35000]

^^^Yes, you'll need a very sensitive/fast sounding headphone (i.e. with biocellulose/nano fibre drivers like SA3/5000, CD3000, Aurvana Live) and ext. headamp, to hear any significant differences/details in the small subtle soundnuances of virtual surround processing.
So when ppl can't hear the differences between 5.1 and 7.1 virt. surround, most likely their ears and/or headphones aren't sensitive or accurate enough.
The Surround intensity slider control are there to compensate any surround soundloss.

Because the (small reverberations) audiosignals involved to create the Virtual surroundfield for the stereo headphone L/R are derived from the mixing/processing of additions/substractions/phaseshftings/differentials between the interactions of the discrete multichannels 5.1/7.1 soundimage.

 

[x7007]

So not go go above SBX surround 67% or we can ?
 
For example in BF4 Single player ( I don't know if there should be any different between single or multi ) I find it very hard to hear the shots location. it's like skyrim, when you are closer, everything comes from center headphones, there are no left or right, when you are close it's the same, when you are starting to go farther then you can do 180c  and start to hear from 3d surround from the location you are looking to the right side where it comes from.
 
I'm using Home-Cinema + Surround + SBX 67% -  DD990 600ohms
 
I can't decide if to use 33%-30% or 67% 
 
I can't find the right game or test to check it what I like.

 

[domoaligato]

If not, you should complain to Creative for an update!

 
Why? If you read the specs it clearly says that it is 5.1
http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sound-blaster-zxr.aspx#specs 

 

[StudioSound]

So not go go above SBX surround 67% or we can ?

For example in BF4 Single player ( I don't know if there should be any different between single or multi ) I find it very hard to hear the shots location. it's like skyrim, when you are closer, everything comes from center headphones, there are no left or right, when you are close it's the same, when you are starting to go farther then you can do 180c and start to hear from 3d surround from the location you are looking to the right side where it comes from.

I'm using Home-Cinema + Surround + SBX 67% - DD990 600ohms
I can't decide if to use 33%-30% or 67%
I can't find the right game or test to check it what I like.

 
I don't know what "Home Cinema" is but probably disable that.
These settings will produce the most distinct directions:

Higher settings than 33% for Surround starts blending the channels together. Lower settings are not as effective.
If you don't like 33% I would use 67% or maybe 50%.

Check that the output is configured for headphones and not speakers:

Check that the device is configured to output 5.1 in the Control Panel:

When playing a game like Wolfenstein, I can easily track an enemy's position with my headphones when I'm behind cover and can't actually see them.

 

[x7007]

 

  So not go go above SBX surround 67% or we can ?

For example in BF4 Single player ( I don't know if there should be any different between single or multi ) I find it very hard to hear the shots location. it's like skyrim, when you are closer, everything comes from center headphones, there are no left or right, when you are close it's the same, when you are starting to go farther then you can do 180c and start to hear from 3d surround from the location you are looking to the right side where it comes from.

I'm using Home-Cinema + Surround + SBX 67% - DD990 600ohms
I can't decide if to use 33%-30% or 67%
I can't find the right game or test to check it what I like.

 
I don't know what "Home Cinema" is but probably disable that.
These settings will produce the most distinct directions:

Higher settings than 33% for Surround starts blending the channels together. Lower settings are not as effective.
If you don't like 33% I would use 67% or maybe 50%.

Check that the output is configured for headphones and not speakers:


Check that the device is configured to output 5.1 in the Control Panel:


When playing a game like Wolfenstein, I can easily track an enemy's position with my headphones when I'm behind cover and can't actually see them.

 
Thanks, all the others settings I know, just can't find the best SBX surround %. it's hard to find the perfect point.
 
The home cinema in BF4 is the Speakers config, you can choose Hi-Fi , Home Cinema , Headphones,  War Tapes. Home Cinema should have more/better Dynamic Range for studio headphones/5.1 speakers.   yes the 33% is better , but for some reason it leave the war sound, like flying chopper above, or distant vehicles and shoots. it feels like you are all alone. that's what I hear from the youtube videos that shows the different.

 

[khb008]

Hey Guys,
I posted this on another forum but I think THIS is the correct place for it.  I really need your help with the Creative SB Zx card I just got, here is the problem i was having, I apologize for the lengthy post,  I ran into a few problems in terms of VoIP that I want to lay before you so that you can tell me whether I should return this or not.

Firstly, my setup is that: I'm running Windows 8.1 x64, Using ACM's BeamMic, Earbuds connected to the ACM and Speakers connected to Front Surround port in the rear. I was talking over Teamspeak and everything was going well. I was messing around with the settings until the person on the other end started to hear my computer audio along with my voice. (No, I did not activate "What you hear" input device). I tried to reset everything and made sure "Listen to this device" was not active. I even double and triple checked the input and output devices in TeamSpeak. I then decided to disconnect the speakers and the headphone, use windows sound recorder to record audio while playing music in iTunes. The recording captured the song playing in the background. I then disconnected the ACM and connected my old mic to the rear input and tried same thing again, and once again the sound recorder captures the audio playing even when no speakers or headphones are connected. The audio recorded is not of perfect quality but you can clearly make out the lyrics in the song that is playing.

After fidgeting for more than an hour, I've narrowed it down to the fact that IF I change the "Speaker Config" in Windows Playback devices section, then all of a sudden the Microphone starts to capture audio from my desktop. At least that is what I think triggers it, i'm not 100% sure. I've read several warnings to only set Windows settings once and never touch them again so fine, I can live with that. The next problem however is a lot more troublesome.

Second problem is that, even if I leave the Windows settings alone and reset the Pro Studio settings to default there is still SOME capture of the desktop's audio output. Its not as clear or as loud as with the other issue, BUT there is still something. I tried recording once again with speakers turned off and music playing with all the settings left to default. I ended up recording something that was soft and completely distorted audio. Can't even make out the lyrics of the song however you can clearly tell there is a beat and rhythm.

Unlike the other problem, I can't seem to figure out what is causing this. I've made a recording and uploaded it here for you to see. I was playing a song in the background The speakers are OFF and headphones are disconnected so it can't bee that the mic is picking up audio from those sources. I paused and played music several times to make sure that its not just random noise in the background. Here is the link:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9706146/Example.wma
 
Here is a screen shot of my "Default Devices" - Note that the Speakers are Turned OFF and the Headphones are Disconnected I'm playing music in iTunes that the Card is somehow picking up as input.
 
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9706146/Default%20Devices%20with%20Music%20Playing.JPG

As you can imagine, this is really annoying for anyone talking to me over TeamSpeak since there this constantly in the background if I'm playing a game or listening to music. I'm really confused, is this a known issue with these cards? Can someone else test this for me? I.e. Play music while using sound recorder and having speakers turned off and volume turned UP.
 
Update:  Its crazy that while I was planning to buy this card, it had such great reviews (i.e. Best Seller on Amazon, Newegg, great reviews on Youtube) but I'm running into so many problems.  People are also saying that the ACM lowers sound quality and that the drivers have not seen support since almost a year, and are unlikely to be updated again.

 

[rudyae86]

Someone with more experience will hopefully help with you with this. Im still a noob with PCs, even though I read about them everyday lol
 
But I have a feeling we wont see you again after your problem is fixed but thats common nowadays lol Good luck
 
Your problem sounds almost like a driver issue but dont quote me on that.

 

[khb008]

Ahahah you misjudge me! I've been lurking on Head Fi for some time now trying to get into the Audiophile game.  Reading headphone reviews and what not.  I started on my journey with the sound card and due to which i'm running into pretty annoying problems.
 
I should have clarified in the last post that my main use for this card would be Gaming as well as Music & Movies.   I do have some questions though pertaining to this card since i've been doing a lot of reading up on it maybe you or someone else can help with that?
 
- My friend has a Creative card built into his mobo (Asus ROG series), I was really impressed with the 3D positional audio and other similar features which is why I bought this.  Are the Z-series really the best option for virtual surround gaming?  For some reason, he gets 7.1 virtual surround the Z-Series are capped at 5.1, since they are both virtual anyway, does it make a difference?
 
- I've read that the ACM actually decreases audio quality of the headphones.  If this is the case, should I return it and just go for the Z? It will save me about $35 at this point
 
- People are saying that since last driver update was 1 year ago and we are not likely to see driver updates again, the problems we have now are here to stay.  If this is the case then should I just return this for a refund and wait for a newer line of Sound Cards?  
 
- I've also read that the new drivers basically remove the Stereo Mic capabilities of the beam mic and thus remove an essential feature that was advertised.  Whats up with that??
 
I hope that you guys can help me figure this out.  As I mentioned, i'm just now getting into the audiophile niche and I really want to be here.  Another reason I wanted this card was that along with the gamer-friendly features, you also get a 600 ohm Amp which I was hoping to use to power a good set of headphones (e.g. HD598s or 558s w/ foam mod)

 

[cdsa35000]

Hey Guys,... (No, I did not activate "What you hear" input device). I tried to reset everything and made sure "Listen to this device" was not active. I even double and triple checked the input and output devices in TeamSpeak. ...

It's so simple just Disable What U Hear device, even marked as not active it's is active in background to capture/monitor any windows sound.
Think abit outside the "preassigned box" will help you DIY.

 

[khb008]

It's so simple just Disable What U Hear device, even marked as not active it's is active in background to capture/monitor any windows sound.
Think abit outside the "preassigned box" will help you DIY.

 
Hi, thanks for replying.  I don't think that is the problem.  That is the first thing I tried as well, by disabling ALL but the default devices.  Right now, I just rechecked and made a recording, and even with "What U Hear" disabled, the input still picks up desktop audio.
 
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9706146/WhatUHear%20Disabled.wma
 
Secondly, its not that simple to be honest.  Of course the "What U Hear" device is picking up audio in the background, I showed that in the picture I posted in my last post.  However, by setting "Microphone" as my default, I shouldn't have to worry about what audio is running through which devices, right?

 

[cdsa35000]

^^^Then its audio crosstalk interference between inputs and outputs, try turn down the volumes to 0 and mute the inputs/speakers in the Z Mixer panel and windows Recording panel etc.
Try disable the mic and any recording devices and any not in use audio/optical in and out devices to find the culprit?

And as long the What U Hear device shows the green volume bar, it's still active.

 

[khb008]

Okay, I did as you said.  Muted the Inputs in Mixer Panel and turned system volume to 0.  The effect now disappears.  But what does this tell me?